April 24, 2008

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Junior Drew Pickering had 19 kills but No. 10 Ball State defeated Lewis 3-1 (30-28, 30-26, 27-30, 31-29) in a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association semifinal match on Thursday evening.

In game one, the Cardinals took a 10-4 lead on a Todd Chamberlain kill. But three straight Lewis points brought the Flyers within one at 10-9. The Flyers continued to trail till junior Billy Sahagian and sophomore Mike Iandolo combined on a block to get Lewis within one at 18-17. Iandolo then recorded a solo block on a Chamberlain attempt to tie it up. A Muesenfechter kill gave Lewis their first lead of the game at 20-19. After a back and forth rally, a Chamberlain attack landed out of bounds to give the Flyers a 21-19 lead and force the Cardinals to call a timeout. Out of the break Ball State rallied with a 5-1 run to grab a 24-22 lead and force the Flyers to call for time. Two straight kills by freshman Brian Muesenfechter tied it at 24. The score was tied at 27 when an attempt by senior Jared Dayton went long and gave Ball State a one-point advantage. A Billy Ebel ace put the score at 29-27. Ball State closed the game out on a kill by Chamberlain.

The Cardinals were again the first to 10 in game two, taking a 10-8 lead on a kill by Matt McCarthy. The Flyers tied it at points 13 through 16 till a Muesenfechter ace gave Lewis a 17-16 lead. Ball State took the lead back till a powerful Sahagian kill tied it at 19. But down the stretch Ball State pulled away for the four point victory.

Pickering notched his tenth kill of the match on the opening point of game three. The Flyers stayed strong, storming out to a 9-3 lead. A Muesenfechter ace gave Lewis a 12-6 lead and forced the Cardinals to call for time. A solo block by Iandolo that landed just inside the far corner increased the Flyers' lead to 14-7. After Ball State started creeping closer at 15-12, the Flyers scored the next four points. During the run Dayton had two blocks, including one solo, and Iandolo hammered an ace. A Sahagian kill followed by a Ball State error gave Lewis a 25-18 advantage. Ball State wouldn't go away easy, rallying to get within three at 26-23. After a Lewis timeout junior Alex Vigansky delivered a quick kill to halt the Cardinals' momentum. A Pickering kill accounted for the Flyers' 30th point and a three-point game three victory.

The Flyers started strong again in game four, taking a 9-6 lead before Ball State tied it at 11. Aside from a short lived two-point Ball State lead, it was back and forth the rest of the way. Ball State scored two straight to grab a 25-24 lead, but Pickering found the corner to tie it at 25. His subsequent serve scattered the Cardinals' offense leading to an Iandolo and Sahagian block and a 26-25 advantage for Lewis. A Dayton kill after another quality serve by Pickering gave Lewis a two-point advantage. But Pickering's next serve was into the net to make it a one-point game again. Two more Ball State points gave the Cardinals a 28-27 lead. Pickering then tied it up with a kill. A Sahagian attempt that was a foot long put Ball State at match point. The squads exchanged points till a kill by Durbin ended the match at 31-29.

Playing in his first MIVA semifinal match, Muesenfechter finished with 15 kills and 10 digs and three aces. Pickering also had six digs while hitting .410 to go with his 19 kills. Iandolo finished with 58 assists, 11 digs, five blocks (two solo) and four kills. In his final contest as a Flyer, Dayton totaled 12 kills.

For Ball State, Durbin had a match-high 30 kills. The Cardinals out-hit Lewis .336 to .318 while Lewis out-blocked Ball State 12.5 to 11.5.

The loss ends the Flyers' season at 21-10.